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Candi McArthur (Cataclysmic Gerosha)
The following is about the Earth-G7 version of Ciem. For earlier versions, see Ciem (disambiguation). Candice Marie McArthur (neé Flippo-Levens) is a young superheroine in the series Cataclysmic Horizons. She is one of several incarnations of Ciem, throughout the Gerosha multiverse of Dozerfleet Comics, this one in particular being part of the continuity known as Cataclysmic Gerosha. She is most closely modeled after her Comprehensive Gerosha counterpart. She is part of a group of freedom fighters that have escaped tyranny in Ameristan, and now defends the nation of Toklisana from the notorious Hebbleskin Gang. Her teammates consist of reinterpretations of Jack "the Jackrabbit" Mercreek, Jeral "Botan the Plant-Man" Cormier, her boyfriend/eventual husband Donte "Emeraldon" McArthur, Dolly "the Earwig" Malestrom, Laurie Pegol, and a few more that come and go. She begins the series trying to escape from Ameristan along with Dolly, Donte, her godfather Imaki Izuki, and a small band of other exiles. It is her godfather that produces the equipment that allows her to become Ciem officially later on. In addition to a render in The Sims 3, this version of Candi is also portrayed by a small number of Indonesian models, courtesy of DeviantArt user Ardhana Wicaksono. One of those models, Nanda Soebagio, is also the official model for Cataclysmic Miriam. Powers, accessories, and weaknesses • ]] Powers In keeping with the standard power set for most incarnations, this version of Candi has centuition and accelerated healing. She also has enhanced speed, strength, agility, constriction, and body flexibility (although, she still has trouble being as flexible as a professional contortionist.) She weighs 122 pounds, but can push or lift nearly half a ton out of her way if she needs to. At 5'4.5", she's not very tall. She can jump a full story at a time if she needs to, but is outclassed by Jackrabbit's ability to jump 2-1/2 stories in one bound. Her greatest skill comes in the form of the execution of maneuvers involving her centilegs, which are short stingers that protrude from her upper wrists, shoulders, hips, thighs, and lower calves. They contain a venom that is comparable to bee venom, which can incapacitate someone. Enough stings can cause temporary paralysis, making it easier for her to subdue adversaries. Her centuition works similar to spider sense, in that it lets her sense danger coming and evade it. She can also stalk fleeing adversaries for a short time even after they've left her field of sight, with an almost "psychic radar" ability to know where they are. She dodges bullets after hearing a "phantom scream" sensation that lets her know exactly which direction a bullet is coming from. She can heal quickly from most bullet wounds, just in case one does manage to hit her anyway. She also possesses the ability to view another individual's romantic history based on an aura she can sense around the eyes, with darker auras indicating more sexual history. (Virgins have no aura.) Because of this, Jack is unable to lie to her about his past skirt-chasing antics. Finally, her abilities include an enhanced metabolism. While she gets plenty of exercise, she is able to keep her weight regulated more easily than most. This comes in handy during pregnancy, as she'd likely gain a lot of weight otherwise. Accessories Courtesy of Imaki, Candi has a variety of tools in her Ciem arsenal as well. She is protected from disease not only by an enhanced immune system, but also from her "dart shooters." These wrist-bound items have miniature darts, up to 500 each in a large pack, which marinate in a solution of her venom. They fire like pressurized staples from a staple gun, and allow her to sting her enemies without having to touch them directly. Mid-range fire also gives her the ability to retain her stealth longer. Zeran wardrobes are quantum storage packages that enable her to store and change clothes quickly. They are modeled after the Zeran technology that was first developed by the Marlquaanite Lord Zeras in the second century AD. Zeran teleporters allow her to move from one place to another quickly, though her small-size models are very short-range. She can transport about two football fields tops in distance, though usually teleports shorter distances to preserve battery life. Combined with roof-hopping, she uses Zeran teleporters to get around town when nobody is able to fly her across. This helps her out tremendously with getting out of tight spots. In spite the fact that centipedes in nature can climb walls all the time with little difficulty, she cannot do any of her own wall-crawling without additional equipment. Some variants of her mask also allow for a switch that activates night vision in her eyepieces, letting her see the world around her better at night. She also possesses Remotach pills, a substance developed by a scientist with help from the Phaelites. Imaki made sure to supply Candi with plenty of these, in the event of capture. With Remotach, she is able to reattach severed limbs - including her own head - while remote-controlling her severed body parts. Remotach also helps prevent excessive blood loss. She makes sure to supply her teammates with some also, in the event any of them are captured. The one time she was captured in Ameristan and could have most used these pills, she didn't have any. Only an electrical blackout on the death camp's power grid saved her life - and Dolly's - when she was able to escape the beheading chambers amidst near-total darkness. Ahead of her, Dolly was being placed on the block; and the two got to witness dozens of other young women being slaughtered before them. She made sure after that to always have Remotach handy. Not only do Ameristani Jihadists want her dead; but Duke Arfaas himself has vowed to collect her head for a trophy. This is because of Candi's mother Shalia, who frustrated a lot of the plans that Arfaas' predecessors had for Gerosha. Weaknesses Consistent with Comprehensive Candi, she has a lot of the same powers and weaknesses. Her equipment is also similar. One major difference is that she's not under the Curse of Honeybee Samuel. Yes, she has Sam Wrikon as an ancestor. But there is nothing supernatural about him this time. While she does struggle with sexual self-control, she is not as prone to nymphomania as her previous incarnations. That being said, she still has to deal with the fact that she has trouble controlling herself around Donte. Donte has a little more self-control in this version than the previous, allowing him to better calm her down when she gets too excited. She isn't as clingy this time as in previous incarnations, making his tolerance of her personality quirks more understandable. • ]] Like Classic Candi, Cataclysmic Candi is susceptible to the substance known as Bezeetol. However, it is a drug in this version. The drug is manufactured specifically to dampen the powers of Phexos and render them dizzy and confused. It is short-lived in its effects, acting as a sort of sedative. Like with every version since Despair Candi, Cataclysmic Candi is particularly susceptible to her powers being dampened if she gets pregnant. This becomes a source of internal conflict for her, as she looks forward to having children. Due to how most birth control pills work, this means that she cannot be on birth control either. Since the Marlquaan is indirectly responsible for how Phexos are able to get their abilities, she is also susceptible to being trapped in a Marlquaanite prison. However, Emwaults are more directly tied to the Marlquaan. This means that her boyfriend is even more susceptible to imprisonment. Any Marlquaanite she meets, however, is going to have a direct bond, and be the most susceptible. This means that her non-Phexo and non-Marlquaanite friends are essential teammates in reducing her likelihood of capture. Character bio Ancestry Candi's double-maternal great-grandparents include the Indo-Persian explorer Sadasheeva Cherupara from India and Alexis Hood from Indiana. Their union was generally frowned upon by both their families; but they were determined to make their marriage work. Some Thuggees had a score to settle with Sadasheeva, however, and stalked him all the way to his home with Alexis. While Sadasheeva himself was murdered, his wife Alexis escaped. She raised their daughter, Marissa Hood, in the forests outside of Booneville, IN. Marissa eventually took over living in her quiet home after Alexis died. She discovered that much of her life would be a repeat of her mother's - up until the day that a fugitive named Dwayne Lloyd invaded her home. Dwayne was eventually captured, but the tragedy had one positive effect: Marissa conceived. The child that resulted was the young Shalia Hood, who grew up to become the wife of Stan Flippo. Shalia also became a politician, and her efforts helped to bring down the Hebbleskin Gang's growing influence. She played a major role in bringing things to a head in Boonville in 1990, leading to Fantisk Hebbleskin and Sgt. Luddin destroying the city. She helped the Phaelites and National Guard defeat both crime lords, and pushed the Hebbleskins back. She and Stan then built Gerosha atop the remains of Boonville. Stan's history was even more convoluted. The abusive minor league baseball player Steve McNolan finally alienated his pregnant girlfriend, Alison Ligash. As he was in prison dying of throat cancer, he vowed to break out and seek vengeance on Alison for leaving him. She found refuge in a kindhearted male friend: Tobey Flippo. Tobey agreed to marry Alison, as well as adopt the child inside her. However, Steve betrayed the couple to the Hebbleskin Gang, whom he had been doing dealings with. Phaelites in the area agreed to protect the young Flippo family - at a price. Stan was to have two experiments performed on him. The first was that some of his cells would be extracted to produce a half-clone. These would be inserted in a donated egg from a Phaelite woman, and would lead to artificial partial cloning. While Tobey was not a fan of the idea of reproductive science, he relented and allowed Alison to give the scientists permission to experiment with Stan. The second experiment merged Stan with "Grandma Centipede," a Michigan garden centipede that was captured and used for experimentation. Through this, Stan became a Phaelite Experiment with the blueprints for a Centhuen Prototype. When switched on, a gene inside one of his children would lead to that child developing the centipede powers that the Phaelites were trying to create. Their goal was to begin with enhanced human beings with centipede abilities, which could then be employed to form an army. From there, they'd create large monsters that were more centipede than man, dubbed "True Centhuens." The first successful implementation of a Phaelite Experiments' Offspring ("Phexo") into a Centhuen Prototype was Charles "Centipede Charlie" Hammerstein, who used his abilities to some effect in Japan during World War II. They were looking to make an even better version of Centipede Charlie, and were beginning to question the possibility of what would happen if they produced female Phexos. Through early tests, they discovered that the female Centhuen Prototypes were prone to their powers being dampened in the event of pregnancy. They figured that those women would learn to control themselves around men, reducing the need to worry about this minor detail. Baby Stan's half-clone was inserted into the womb of a Phaelite scientist named Insila Murtillo, who volunteered for that experiment. The half-clone was not to know for several years who his true father was. The baby that grew inside Insila was born as Ploribus Murtillo. He grew up to become a war hero, and changed his name to Darius Philippine to protect his mother. He eventually learned the truth about who his father was, but chose not to get too involved in Stan's life as that would only complicate matters. Even so, his half-siblings are aware of who he is. After Alison died, Tobey took Stan into the woods outside of Boonville to live. He taught Stan how to be self-reliant, and inspired in Stan a quest to find the lost treasure of the pirate Henry Lohtz. Stan eventually met Shalia, and the two of them embarked on a journey. Being the first couple to successfully stumble on the treasure, they were immediately rich beyond their imaginations. However, they decided to call their investment "Project: Gerosha." This is because they discovered the Gerosha Stone, a seashell that became the most prized possession of Henry Lohtz. Stan and Shalia married soon after the death of Marissa. Their first son was Reily, who grew up to become a world-famous chef. During the Battle for Gerosha, young Erin Wyer was discovered to be an orphan. She was adopted by Stan and Shalia. A few years after the battle, Reily met and married Ashlee Kornsdall. They immediately had a son named Kirby. It was not long after Kirby was born that Stan and Shalia had triplets Candice, Miriam, and Marina. Strangely, only Candi manifested the Centhuen Prototype ability set. Early life Candi was born as one of three fraternal triplets to Stan and Shalia Flippo on September 9th, 1999. She was the only Filippo child to receive the Centhuen Prototype mutation via Stan. Her two non-mutant sisters, Miriam and Marina, would develop other talents. Candi had lived for much of her early life going back and forth between being exposed to various environmental factors and being sheltered from them. She was aware early on of her mutation, and her implied calling in life; but has always had mixed feelings about it. Her powers did not fully manifest in this version until the age of 12. While she was trained from early on how to engage in superheroics by her godfather Imaki, her parents and older siblings advised against her going on real missions while still a small child. She was content to behave as a ordinary child for much of that early life. Her world was turned inwards in October of 2006, when her parents were run off the road by Hebbleskin Gang associates. Her older sister Erin gained custody of her, along with gaining custody of Miriam and Marina. However, there were some problems. Erin got in with a bizarre crowd at college, leading her to become very strict about her younger sisters' dating habits. A chemical imbalance started forming in her brain, leading to the gradual deterioration of her mental health. Since Reily was busy with his wife Ashlee and son Kirby touring the world as celebrity chefs, he felt little connection to his biological sisters. The fact that they were technically young enough to be his daughters made meetings even more awkward, leading to him generally ignoring all his sisters. His luxurious lifestyle also conflicted with the family model of living beneath one's means, resulting in him being ostracized by Erin. Given that Erin was unable to provide the emotional support and stability that Candi needed, she often looked up to her godfather, Japanese inventor and Phaelite-friendly Imaki Izuki, as a surrogate father. Middle school Candi spent much of her middle school life as an ordinary student, though she did have some issues with some of her classmates. Candi's fifth grade teacher agreed with the sixth grade teacher concerning curriculum content. However, pressure from left-wing lobbies resulted in the state replacing the successful curriculum with a very destructive one. The new teachers were not only hard on Candi for her traditional views, but were actually encouraging the corruption of the youth they were charged with. Angry parents' concerns over their children going from caring about their future and how to support themselves to caring only about sex fell on deaf ears. When one father threatened to pull his daughter out because the school refused to protect her from being bullied by lesbians; he was thrown in jail, accused of threatening the lesbians that were threatening his daughter for real. Candi found that the more politically-correct the school's curriculum became, the more hostile the school's environment became for all students - not just her. She began dating a certain Don Mendoza in sixth grade, in spite of Erin's wishes to the contrary. She thought she could cheer him up when he began having doubts about the goodwill of God, following the fact that his mother was sick and dying and his father was missing. However, the Hebbleskins also found him and got to him. Finding them willing to give him more than just promises to hold onto, he turned on Candi. One day after basketball tryouts, Candi was in the showers at school. Don decided to lie in wait. When he saw that she was alone, he seized the opportunity and attacked her. The attack led to rape; but Candi's full centipede powers manifested during the attack. She was able to throw him off of her and fight back, leading to him fleeing the scene. Candi realized that the faculty would not work in her favor, given her religious views. She also realized that she'd blow her cover - and that of her sisters - if she made too big a fuss. During the attack, Don confessed to his allegiance to Arfaas. When Candi fought him off, he swore to find her again. He vowed that when he did, he'd be stronger. Until then, he vowed to find a way to haunt her nightmares. Much of Candi's desire thereafter to consummate with Donte stems from a desire to replace her negative sexual experience with positive experiences, so as to erase Don's legacy in her mind. That same year, Miriam started being harassed by classmates. Marina was drugged and raped by a boy named Fred, and Candi used her centipede powers and a cheap costume to exact some revenge. Fred never figured out who it was that came from the shadows, beat him savagely, and temporarily paralyzed him. Candi and Marina kept it between the two of them. When Imaki eventually found out; he warned Candi about the dangers of personal revenge. He did not, however, lecture her about the need to let the police handle it. This is because he knew that the police would grow inquisitive - which would only trigger an alert with the Hebbleskins and endanger the whole town. High school objections to the idea of her younger sisters dating. Original photo here. 3D views: • ]] Candi's high school years were marked by a repeat of middle school, with the exception that Don didn't return right away. Candi and Miriam became more adept at defending themselves, and more careful not to draw attention to themselves in the first place. Marina, however, had more issues. Following what Fred did to her, rumors began to fly about her. Men began flattering her, in order to see what they could get out of her. She found that she enjoyed sex a little too much, and soon racked up 15 consensual partners in her quest to be appreciated. Realizing her antics with men were getting her nowhere, she became withdrawn. However, one boy named Matt Baret did not abandon her. He actually thought about pursuing a relationship with her the right way - by appealing to Erin and Candi. While Candi approved of Matt right away, Erin rejected Matt instantaneously and even threatened him. When Candi protested Erin's inappropriate hostility, Erin threatened to have all three of her sisters kicked out of the house. As Erin's temperament began to vary from day to day between sweet and violent, the other girls began to suspect there was something not right in her head. One harsh comment too many sent Miriam and Marina into straight-out rebellion, with Candi becoming caught in the middle and trying to bring all sides together. Imaki intervened, and offered to share custody of Candi with Erin until a time when Candi was truly prepared to strike out on her own. He discovered that Erin was suffering a severe chemical imbalance in her brain. However, any talk of Marina's past sexual exploits seemed to be a trigger for Erin's unstable mood swings. However, medicating Erin proved a hit-and-miss game. Erin didn't want to admit she had a problem. Alas, the damage had already been done. Marina and Matt conceived a child in secret, then ran away to get married. News of what happened eventually made its way back to Erin, which caused her melodramatic mood swings to worsen. Candi considered moving in with Imaki permanently, especially since she needed to complete her training. In spite Candi begging her not to, Miriam moved in with her boyfriend Phil Couric's family. Rumors flew quickly about Marina's exploits, while Candi and Miriam started being accused of a few of them around school. Efforts by the girls to defend their reputations proved fruitless. However, they did all they could to avoid bad crowds. Candi nearly found herself in a few fights, as mobs began attempts to sexually assault her. She confided in Imaki that it frustrated her to no end that she could not alert police to what was going on, as the other students at Gerosha High were taking things completely beyond normal. In some ways, Candi began to envy Miriam. While she could not approve of Miriam's lifestyle arrangements, she did feel that Miriam had found an otherwise-godly man who was suitable husband material. Candi wondered where her Prince Charming was - or if he even existed. She often obsessed over it, looking for any sign that her only experience with love and dating would not be the horror and treachery she endured under Don Mendoza. Her chance finally came in the August of 2018. Unfortunately, things seemed worse than ever for her. Announcements came over the news very loudly and clearly. The Hebbleskin Gang had taken over parts of the northwestern US! Since Washington was bankrupt and the country was over the fiscal cliff, military budgets had been cut to the point of being powerless to stop the northwest from falling under these horrible villains' control. They formed the nation of Netheel, naming it after the planet Metheel. Rumors spread that resistance to Duke Arfaas was being crushed by his creations, along with help from a wanted fugitive known only as "Don the Psycho." Acting quickly, another large section of the country was soon taken over by China and made into "Chimerica." This was to China could secure its investments in American debt after there was no America. A piece consisting of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and a few other states broke off to become "Toklisana." Not to be outdone, the Muslim Brotherhood put its own agents in charge of the fourth part, redubbing it "Ameristan." At first, the Jihadist regime promised that all Americans who registered as Toklisanans in the nick of time would be allowed safe passage into Toklisana and out of Ameristan. Thousands registered to leave Ameristan, but a few hundred realized that the promise was disingenuous. If the promise were sincere, then there wouldn't be a waiting list for who could depart. Matt Baret saw writing on the wall, and liquidated what few assets were left of his family's car dealership. He moved his wife Marina and son Andy to Toklisana in dead-of-night, smuggling them in because he knew that he would not be allowed to leave. Imaki was considering pulling Candi out of school; but Candi warned that too many trying to leave ahead of schedule would backfire. Imaki reluctantly heeded her warning. He instead started forming a resistance faction; one that would work towards an exodus effort should the regime change its mind. However, he started hearing reports that those who were critical of the regime before it took control, especially during the Obama years, were being disappeared slowly and gradually. The new regime was already breaking its promise! Meeting Donte While Candi was with Imaki in Evansville at a special meeting for Phexos and their mentors, the Hebbleskin launched a raid. A fight soon broke out at the convention center, and Candi was nearly dealt a serious blow by a mantis-themed monstrosity. She was spared, however, by a young man who flew in and fought the monster head-on. Just as he was about to be trapped in a Marlquaanite prison, Candi fought off its wielder, giving her rescuer a chance to save himself. Things continued to get out of hand. He turned out to have a mentor: Rev. Clarence Wimmentel. Alas, Wimmentel got into the line of fire right as the man who had suddenly caught Candi's eye had been rescued from what would have been his doom. The minister was shot down by a Meethlite holding a revolver. That young man soon found himself fleeing the scene with the help of Candi and Imaki. The new regime showed up with tanks, and made quick work of most of those who were still there. The conference was supposed to be about finding one's peace via healthy relationship with God; but ended in war. The Hebbleskins wanted to seize the opportunity to wipe out Phexos; and a convention center event dedicated to them provided a perfect target for Duke Arfaas' army to gain some experience. As the young man made it back to Candi and Imaki's hotel, he revealed himself to be Evansville's defender: Emeraldon. He was otherwise known as Donte McArthur. Five years older than Candi, his life was in shambles much like hers. With Clarence gone, Donte was now completely without a family. The new regime closed down the sports store where he worked, leaving him with no job. Imaki promised to take him in; although he stated that he'd have to use his network of underground shelters to make sure Candi and Donte weren't technically cohabiting. He knew, however, that the similarities between the two in almost every area of life meant a strong likelihood of the two becoming romantically interested. It was around this time that Imaki let his real plans be known to Candi: that she was to partake in "Project: Ciempiés." Donte, in a joke, suggested shortening the name to "Ciem," and Candi revealed that she like the idea. All her training was about to add up to something: a superhero identity. Her cheap costume was to be replaced with a real set of suits. She was also going to have to protect Toklisana from her college campus - assuming they could ever escape Ameristan in time for her to make it to college. Over time, romantic interest did bloom between Candi and Donte. In spite knowing Erin wouldn't approve, Candi and Donte decided to begin dating. Candi confessed to being raped by Don the Psycho, and how she was never the same afterward. Donte confessed that when his power first manifested, he couldn't resist the urge to take revenge on the men who murdered his father. He may not have killed them per se; but he left them wishing they were dead. When they saw how religious each other was as well, that made the appeal even stronger. One evening in late October at Gerosha High, during a football game, Candi and Donte decided to make their relationship official. Rumors begin to fly about her sex life almost immediately, as the other students grow highly suspicious of Candi suddenly showing interest in someone. However, she tries to keep Donte's age a secret. She fears that they'd make him out to be an ephebophile. Rise of the prison state While Candi and Donte's interest in each other was but puppy love at first, it quickly blossomed into true love as they began to go on missions and face trials together. Candi's graduation from Gerosha High was fairly uneventful; but the day after proved to be a day of infamy. The regime had officially gone back on its word. Worse, it decided to form a pact with the Hebbleskin Gang to keep Toklisanans from being able to use the western borders with Netheel and Toklisana as a passageway to freedom. Using Meethlite technology, a large force shield, called "The Wall," was erected to keep most Toklisanans permanently trapped behind enemy lines. A campaign of "cleansing" began in Ameristan, and all non-Muslim "dhimmies" were subject to random arrests. Death camps began popping up, and it was only a few months after Candi's graduation that Gerosha had been reduced to a war zone. There was little reason for anyone to trust anyone. Imaki's resistance pockets started arming themselves, as the regime cracked down mercilessly. Miriam and Phil found themselves in a tight spot when the Hebbleskin Gang deduced where Miriam was hiding, with the aid of their own hacker: Melvin Markus. Phil's parents were killed, and the young couple found themselves on the run. Alas, only Miriam made it to safety. Phil was killed by the Hebbleskins. Her last text to Candi was that she would not be seen for a while. She'd contact Candi again when she was able. Candi then found herself even more alone. Imaki and Donte, and the greater cause, were all she had left in life. She hoped to work with the two men to let Phil's dying dream come true: a breach in the Wall assuring that most (if not all) remaining Toklisanans could make it to a new and better life. Freedom fighter • ]] Much of the first season of Cataclysmic Horizons centers around Candi and her friends as they seek to prepare their associates for the Exodus Agenda. Without Miriam's help, they have to create another, similar breach in "the Wall." Part of the struggle centers around the need to find a new hacker smart enough to figure out the firewall, so the force shield can be taken down. Candi, Donte, and Imaki must also do all they can to keep their ham radio network from being dismantled - and their fellow Toklisanans from being captured. Part of the unholy, temporary alliance between Duke Arfaas and the Ameristani dictator is that the regime has adopted the Hebbleskin Gang's mantra about executing prisoners: "Off with her head; out with his guts!" In male death camps, the men were being cut open and their organs harvested. Women were being beheaded and disposed of like pigs. Female Phexos' heads were to be delivered to Duke Arfaas as trophies, especially if they are directly connected to the Flippo family. This proclamation by the regime results in Candi's missions becoming increasingly dangerous. Imaki eventually has to introduce her to Remotach pills, in the event of capture. She does end up captured at one point, when she has nothing on her. She is shot with a Bezeetol dart, and is quickly tranquilized and apprehended. Her capture occurs in some rubble, while she was on her way to examine the home of a certain Jeraime Malestrom. The resistance believed that Jeraime was working on a "Project: Musaran," and that he might be able to assist in breaching the Wall. Candi soon finds herself on the chopping block, with a feisty girl named Dolly on the block next to hers. Just as the executioners raise their axes, there is a power failure. It is revealed to have been the result of Donte interfering with the power grid to disable as many death camps as possible, in an effort to get prisoners out. He does not catch on that Candi and Dolly are inside, nor does he know how many women immediately in front of Candi and Dolly have already died. Even so, the girls use the opportunity as a chance to escape. The Bezeetol wears off, and Candi's centuition kicks back in. They fight off as much security as possible, then flee into the endless fields of rubble and scrap metal. Dolly reveals to Candi that Jeraime was her husband. The Hebbleskins had intercepted Project: Musaran; and were planning to implement it with their AI backvisor program. Jeraime had been kidnapped to become their personal guinea pig for the project. However, the Hebbleskins didn't deem Dolly worthy of being part of their cause. Therefore, they left her for Ameristani executioners to dispose of. The girls make their way back to Jeraime's house, collecting as many valuable items as were hidden from regime view. They also find some clothes to wear, then reunite with Imaki and Donte. The reunion is briefly postponed when Imaki and Donte's initial base of operations is exposed. The regime levels it, while the duo retreat to another hidden base. A chicken monster named Jawknee arrives, courtesy of the Hebbleskin Gang. She quickly sets to work, spreading murder and mayhem for Ameristani and Toklisanan alike. The girls put up a good fight against her control of all birds; but are soon exhausted. As the regime closes in on all three women, Donte shows up in his Emeraldon suit. He flies the girls to safety, being careful to keep the three of them from being detected. The regime suffers some blows; but eventually subdues Jawknee. A majority of the rest of the first season of Cataclysmic Horizons is about Candi, Dolly, Donte, and Imaki plotting the Exodus Agenda to flee Ameristan. Meanwhile, Jack Mercreek begins a manhunt for Don the Psycho. It's revealed that Don is now part of a Hebbleskin Gang infiltration somewhere in Toklisana near the border with Mexico. Random rapes and murders tied to Don have been happening around Houston, and the young Apache has vowed to catch the monster. Jack is dubbed "the Jackrabbit" because of his ability to hop 2-1/2 stories in a single bound, and run long distances without growing tired. While Jack plays cat-and-mouse with Don in Toklisana and Candi fights alongside her friends for survival and escape from the brutal prison state that surrounds her, Miriam and her new boyfriend Steve battle alongside the Chinese Ministry of Security to keep Melvin Markus and the Hebbleskin Gang from invading Hong Kong. Exodus The big day finally arrives, and a replacement hacker is found. However, he is unable to maintain the grid for long. When a reinforcement tries to override the hack, Sniperbadger arrives and prolongs the override for a full 72 hours. The breach is taken advantage of, and a brief region along the border between the three countries referred to as "the overpass" becomes filled with fleeing Toklisanans. A defeated Netheeli guard warns the travelers that any Phexos caught during the Exodus will be hauled away to be executed publicly when Duke Arfaas destroys Houston. He immediately takes a cyanide pill before anyone can get anything else out of him. The Hebbleskins immediately send in troops and fighter jets to terminate the fleeing Toklisanans, while Ameristani troops race in after to crush anyone who would have the nerve to defy the dictator. Imaki is killed, and Donte is trapped in a Marlquaanite prison. Word quickly spreads to Arfaas that the one called Emeraldon is in custody, and the order is given to take him to the base in Toklisana where Arfaas plans to store prisoners for the awaited day of Houston's destruction. Candi, only slightly hopeful that Donte can still be rescued, crosses the border to safety feeling very distraught. Dolly attempts to comfort her, but has a heart full of longing for revenge. Imaki's warnings to Candi about harboring vengeful thoughts fall on deaf ears with Dolly. Her husband was being experimented on. Candi's true love was being kept in suspended animation only to be killed when most convenient. Candi began to fear that nothing would ever completely distract Dolly from her desire to fight back. Superhero career battles Don the Psycho. Original here. 3D views: • ]] Per Imaki's promise, reinforcements await the arriving Toklisanans at the border. Candi is sent to Houston along with Dolly. The two enroll at the University of Houston, and decide to at least get their general education requirements finished. Candi changes her last name to "Levens" on advice from Imaki. She decides that the last name of Flippo is no longer safe. Dolly runs into trouble enrolling, having a hard time explaining that she is married. The school lets her get a dorm, but insists she enroll under her maiden name of Weiss. The Toklisanan government does not acknowledge Ameristani elopement weddings as valid marriage, so she'd have to marry Jeraime all over again to be truly considered a married woman. In spite this, she insists on referring to herself as Dolly Malestrom around her peers. She vows that she will get her husband back; one way or another. No sooner do the girls enroll, than Imaki's other warnings to them become clear. Toklisana is under constant attack. Candi finally decides the time is right to carry out her missions around campus using the suits and technology that Imaki entrusted with her, and the legend of Ciem is born. It isn't long before Dolly acquires a suit from Darius Philippine, and uses it to become The Earwig. With it, Ciem and Earwig are able to defeat a ninja assassin Milthuen Prototype named Milp. The girls' operation ends up colliding directly with that of Jackrabbit, as both teams vow to take down Don the Psycho. He decides they should work as one, rather than compete for targets. The girls agree, and form a league of heroes. Ciem's adventures around Houston lead to her and her friends battling Wayne the Vampire, Don the Psycho, Cupric, Rockpapsci, and a few other villains. They also end up recruiting an embittered Jeral "Botan the Plant-Man" Cormier, and promise to help him save his wife Emily from a rogue Phaelite faction called the Phaletori. In spite some romantic feelings and an understanding developing between Jack and Candi, they decide to stick to their original significant others. Their battle with the Phaletori heats up when it is discovered that they're continuing the creation of True Centhuens - even after those were forbidden by the new Toklisanan government! However, their efforts get sidelined when the Hebbleskin Gang starts launching a full-scale assault on Toklisana to destroy it. They don't care if they themselves claim it for Netheel, or if it is overrun by Chimerica or Ameristan. They simply want the country gone, to crush all the hopes of its citizens. A few other Phexos end up being reported dead, and the killings are blamed on a "tall, brown assassin with a limited vocabulary." Dolly immediately suspects that it's Jeraime, having become Musaran. While the team eventually defeats Musaran and returns Donte to Candi, Donte's old archival the Jordan "the Sapphire King" Reddelwick escapes custody. A now much-stronger team, also returning Jack's girlfriend Miranda to him, tries to regroup. Moving to Waco Candi and Donte immediately resume their relationship, but an inability to keep their hands off each other compels them to consider getting married right away. Not long after the wedding, they and the team find themselves fighting both the Phaletori and an especially dangerous rogue Meethex named Captain Aardwulf. Netheel as a nation implodes, with Chimerica taking over most of it. Talk of war embroils, as Chimerica grows friendly with Toklisana and Ameristan wants both remaining nations destroyed. Candi and the others are able to defeat Captain Aardwulf, and to get rid of a dangerous device he stole dubbed the "Ming-Yo." Its sister device, the Ming-Cho, ends up being destroyed by way of three civilians not related to the team. Ciem and allies end up getting some help from Miriam and Steve to defeat Aard, along with Miriam's new friends from the Chinese Ministry of Security. Candi and Donte attend Miriam and Steve's wedding in Alaska, and soon return to Toklisana. Candi becomes less directly involved in the team's operations afterward, as she begins to focus more on school and married life. Donte begins looking for a job, since he knows he and Candi can't live off her inheritance forever. Around the time that Candi finishes her general education requirements, she decides to move to Waco. The University of Houston doesn't have the CSI school program she wants; so she transfers. Most of her credits transfer with her. A mission in bringing down some Phaletori operatives nearly fails when her powers begin glitching. Botan gets her to safety, and immediately assesses the likelihood that she's pregnant. She reveals the news to Donte, and the couple gets confirmation. Maternity leave from the team means that it isn't long before Ciem and Emeraldon branch out on their own. The others assure them that unless the situation is absolutely dire, the couple will not be expected to engage in further team operations. They are strong enough on their own now not to need their Emwualt and Centhuen Prototype members. Candi promises to keep in touch, in case a dire situation does unfold. New life and career Candi and Donte eventually give birth to their son Frank. They play a minimal role in helping their friends out when Judge Beliah tries to have all Phexos and Marlquaanites outlawed. Otherwise, Candi and Donte start fading from view. Even so, Jeraime and Dolly remain best friends with Candi and Donte. Miriam and Steve arrive with their children Marie and Trina from time to time to visit both the McArthurs and Malestroms. Jeral and Emily being talking about starting their own Cormier clan. With Candi and Donte partially out of the picture, the others scramble to rescue as many other heroes as they can to resist Beliah's influence. This leads to the team gaining allies in the form of Navyrope, Pilltar, Extirpon, the Gray Champion, and more. Duke Arfaas is declared dead, bringing assurance to Candi that the #1 reason for Ciem to be around is gone. As Candi enters partial retirement from being Ciem, she starts taking on a new career as a CSI. She becomes more of a CSI and less of a superhero after graduating. Donte finds work in construction, and the two focus between their jobs on raising Frank. Their happily ever after was achieved; though they had to fight for every bit of it. Personality Similar to other versions of the character, Candi in this version is a cautious and reserved, beta-dominant female. Like with Comprehensive Candi, she can be viscous if cornered and cruel if her friends and family are harmed. However, she prefers stealth and subduing her enemies to the more ruthless tactics of Dolly and her Earwig suit. She is a hopeless romantic, and dreams of a family with Donte quite often. She is very protective of her sisters, and feels frustrated when they end up in situations where she can do nothing for them. Unlike Comprehensive and Classic Candi, Cataclysmic Candi is more determined to see a job through to the end. She is also more determined and faithful to Donte. This is aided by the fact that Denny Levens doesn't exist in the same capacity in this version as in previous ones, thereby removing her #1 most effective distraction. While she does crave Donte in a very lustful way, she has a slightly easier time controlling herself this time than her previous incarnations had. She is also somewhat clingy, but is not obnoxious about it the way she is in other versions. This Candi can at times also be more of a pragmatist than other versions. She tends to keep to her small circle of friends, much like the other incarnations, not socializing much beyond that circle. She takes her godfather's advice very seriously, especially since he is one of the few father figures she has left when Stan is murdered. She is determined that, with Donte's help, her children will have a more stable environment to grow in than what she had. Development Character version Personal character After the elections in 2012, the Dozerfleet founder deemed a second Obama term as likely to destroy the US. The Ciem novel trilogy in Comprehensive Gerosha was deemed unlikely to happen in such a world, so Candi's entire timeline history was scrapped. The novels Vigilante Centipede, Nuclear Crisis, and Condemnation were relegated to the Canceled projects bin. It was decided that a new series would have to be pursued, one which re-imagined almost all the Gerosha characters whose lives are relevant to the years 2018 and beyond in an alternate history cautionary tale. Watchmen undertones would be inevitable. The template for Cataclysmic Candi was Comprehensive Candi, but a lot of the themes from that version were either toned down significantly or removed entirely. A lot of this was for practical reasons, as Comprehensive Candi's emphasis on her personal life had a tendency to overshadow the plot rather than serve it. Another justification for simplifying components of Candi's life and personality came from the fact that a lot of time had passed since 90 Has No Secant was written. Working that old narrative into the new one would have produced numerous complications with continuity, so it was decided to make the Meshalutian Trilogy no longer canon. Without the Curse of Honeybee Samuel, Candi's struggles with self-control no longer had as much of a supernatural foundation. Therefore, her sex life becomes a subplot in the series; rather than taking center stage like it did in Classic and Comprehensive Gerosha. It remains canon that she has lost her virginity to Don the Psycho, and has also been with Wayne (not consensually) and Donte (consensually.) Her affair with Jack Mercreek is not canon in this version. It didn't serve the narrative well for Comprehensive Ciem, and was therefore not deemed suitable for this version either. Inspirations behind character and teammates While still something of a main character for the first three seasons of Cataclysmic Horizons, Candi is able to fade away from center stage by the fourth. Her and her teammates are also dealt with like an ensemble. Therefore, other characters' backstories and personalities have a chance to be as relevant to the plot as her own. Candi was seen, in the Watchmen parallel, as being an analog of Spider-Girl. One major difference is that she's a centipede-themed character, worked to fit this specific narrative. This is viewed as being similar to how Rorschach was inspired by The Question and Mr. A. Likewise, her teammate Jeral Cormier is most similar to the Ultimate Marvel version of Samuel Smithers. Donte's Emeraldon identity was likewise revised for this continuity. He is shorter, ages slower, and has a Peter Pan-style method of flight as opposed to his jet-like flight in previous versions. His appearance is modeled after that of Marvel's Meteor Man, though some have stated he looks a little like a Green Lantern. The Earwig suit is a typical powered armor, with the only downside being that the AI inside it that is supposed to enhance the wearer's knowledge of how to fight is a little psychotic. Dolly's struggle at first is figuring out how to operate the suit with the AI turned off, as it is even more bloodthirsty than she is. Her suit's bloodlust is inspired by O'Malley from Red vs. Blue. Her reckless demeanor without the AI makes her more similar to Tex from that same series. Jackrabbit's ability to leap and run is most similar to the original power set of Toad from X-Men, before that character gained a prehensile tongue. Visuals In keeping with a push to make the Gerosha universe look more and more lifelike, Dozerfleet sought out a means to gain visuals for as many characters as possible that were as life-like as possible. The first major success in this was in the reinterpretation of Stung Hornet. Cataclysmic Ciem came next. While the Ciem suit itself has been most-realistically interpreted with MakeHuman 3D, a variation made with The Sims 3 is used to distinguish the look for this version from its very similar design for Comprehensive Gerosha. Candi's out-of-suit appearance in Sims 3 is almost a direct port of the Sim model used for Comprehensive Candi. For purposes of the image on the wiki above, a model was needed. The model and image supplied were modified from an original print by British modeling photographer Ardhana Galih Wicaksono, better known on DeviantArt as the artist Maleica. The model above is not as athletically fit as Candi's centipede powers should make her, but is otherwise a good approximation of her body proportions. The model also had her hair a bit long for what Candi's canon haircut should be, but that was deemed a minor cosmetic issue. Success with Maleica's "Blue" print at interpreting a life-like Candi inspired use of similar images from Maleica, using that same model, to interpret Miriam and Marina. In keeping with much of the other concept art for Cataclysmic Horizons, stereoscopic versions of images were implemented to show Candi's world off in ways that had not been attempted at Dozerfleet before. Other than a few one-off images, almost nothing in Stationery Voyagers had bothered with stepping into the challenge of 3D imaging. None of the previous versions of any Gerosha-related media had attempted stereoscopy either. Much of the push to making use of three dimensions for Cataclysmic Horizons visuals, including Candi's concept artwork, were inspired by the success of making Blood Over Water 3D and a 3D music video of "Obama Ain't Got the Touch." Further encouragement came from leaked YouTube videos about the utilization of 3D in the pre-production process of Peter Jackson's version of The Hobbit. See also * Ciem * ''Cataclysmic Horizons'' (series) * Ciem in various media External links * "Blue" original artwork by Maleica at DeviantArt Category: Cataclysmic Horizons characters Category: Flippo family